I’m a Barre native and have been a central Vermont businessman for 51 years and have been a gun owner since the age of 10. I was outraged after arriving home from work Friday evening to find that Mayor Thom Lauzon is planning to ban what he terms “assault” type weapons from the Barre gun show.

Thom Lauzon and the city of Barre have no legal right to infringe upon citizens’ Second Amendment rights and the commerce of gun sales. I’m sick and tired of government at all levels diminishing our freedoms. Now, I’m not saying he can’t, because it appears that he has already thrown down that challenge and claims he has the right to do so.

I might agree with him if it was possible to ban felons and the mentally ill from the show. The “knee-jerk” overreaction to the Sandy Hook tragedy is over the top. These events were caused by a mother who bought weapons and trained her mentally ill son in their use and capabilities and she allowed him access to these guns even after she told him that she was going to have him committed. Additionally, her son felt that she cared more for the children at Sandy Hook, where his mother performed volunteer work, than she did for him.

Ninety-nine-plus percent of all gun owners are responsible and upstanding citizens, and the mayor plans to punish them because of the actions of this mother who displayed extremely poor judgment. If the mayor is somehow successful with his proposed ban, I would suggest that the gun dealers and the gun owners of Vermont, with the assistance of the NRA, sue the city of Barre. The gun owners of Barre City and throughout the state of Vermont should attend the Barre gun show and sign a pledge for financial support to fund such a lawsuit. Anyone in agreement with this should voice your opposition to the mayor’s proposed ban.